Shanahan blew Griffin's present

Thursday

Jan 10, 2013 at 12:01 AM

Baseball season ended in Washington with fans of the hometown team questioning the handling of the face of the franchise.

Jason Queen

Baseball season ended in Washington with fans of the hometown team questioning the handling of the face of the franchise.Football season ended the same way in the nation's capitol this weekend.Hindsight's 20/20. I get that. But I didn't like the way the Nationals approached bringing ace pitcher Stephen Strasburg back from an injury to his golden right arm. The organization, especially general manager Mike Rizzo, decided in February that Strasburg would pitch roughly 200 innings last season. If all went well, he would be at full strength when spring training opened next month. But that innings limit was an absolute number; there was nothing that was going to change Rizzo's mind.Then, low and behold, the perennially lowly Nats found themselves at the top of the food chain; with the best record in baseball in September, they had a legitimate shot at a World Series title. That didn't sway Rizzo. He shut Strasburg down, and without their ace, he essentially shut down the Nationals' title hopes.Washington, and every other team in baseball, hopefully learned something from the way the Braves handled Kris Medlin. Like Strasburg, he was on the road to recovery from an injury to his throwing arm. Like the Nationals, the Braves had a set number of innings they wanted to limit Medlin to. But they took a unique approach: they brought Medlin out of the bullpen the first half of the year, giving him a chance to build up his arm strength while keeping him fresh for the second half. And, oh, what a second half he had. Medlin finished the year with a sparkling 10-1 record and a microscopic 1.57 ERA. He was arguably the best pitcher in baseball from the All Star break on. Had the Nationals taken that approach, Strasburg would have been in top form in September, coming down the home stretch. But, had he not started up until the All Star break, who knows if the Nationals would have been leading the NL East. Again, hindsight's 20/20.That being said, anyone with eyes could have determined that Robert Griffin III should not have been under center for the Redskins in the second half of their NFL playoff game Sunday against Seattle. Slowed tremendously by a knee injury he suffered nearly a month ago against the Ravens, RGIII simply wasn't himself. What made Griffin one of the most dynamic, explosive and effective quarterbacks in the league this year was his ability to run the football. With his knee shot, that part of his game was taken away. I'm not saying he's not a fantastic pocket passer. But, the Seahawks did not have to respect his ability to scramble out of the pocket and break long runs, because he was clearly trying to function on a bum leg. His inability to be himself was a direct factor in the Skins blowing a 14-0 lead and losing the game, thus ending their season.Griffin insists him staying in the game was his call to make. That's baloney. Mike Shanahan is the team's head coach. Dr. James Andrews, THE authority on sports injuries in this country, is the team's physician. If Griffin was unable to play, without risking further injury to his knee, he should have been on the sidelines.Another factor that should have come into play is that Kirk Cousins is a more than able backup quarterback. He has looked quite capable in his relief roles this season. I think anyone, other than Robert Griffin III and Mike Shanahan, would agree that a healthy Cousins was a better option for the Redskins than Griffin in the second half. As it turns out, Griffin essentially took the decision out of Shanahan's hands. He insisted on staying in the game and, as a result, he underwent major surgery on his knee Wednesday. He hopes to be back at full strength by the start of training camp, but that is iffy. And even if he's cleared to return, will he be the same RGIII as he was before the injury late in the regular season?Washington traded its future — three first-round picks and a second rounder — to move up in this year's draft and pick Griffin. I hope they didn't ruin his future by leaving him on the field when he shouldn't have been out there.Jason Queen can be reached at 249-3981, ext. 220, or jason.queen@the-dispatch.com.